FIFA World Cup 2026 will coincide with Pride Month in the United States, and Seattle, one of the host cities of the football competition, decided to label the match on June 26 as "Pride Match" and include it in the city-wide celebrations of the Pride weekend, with the main festivities being around June 28.
Plans were made by a Seattle committee before the World Cup draw to display LGBTQ+ artwork around the stadium. But when the calendar was released, the planned "Pride Match" on June 26 turned out to be Egypt vs. Iran, two countries where same-sex relationships are prohibited and LGBT+ people are prosecuted, even punished with flogging and death penalties in Iran.
Last Tuesday, both Arab countries sent a letter to FIFA urging the organisers to prevent any LGBT+ activities happeningaround the match as that "would clash with the cultural and religious values of the nations participating in the match" (via Reuters): "These activities directly conflict with the cultural, religious and social values of the region, particularly in Arab and Islamic societies", said the Egypt Football Association. "We call on FIFA to guarantee that the match takes place in an atmosphere focused solely on sport and free from displays that contradict the beliefs of the participating nations."
After the letter where sent, the World Cup organisers in Seattle confirmed that the Pride events will go ahead as planned, but suggested that all activities will take place outside the stadium, saying that "we don't control what happens on the pitch or in the stadium; that's FIFA's domain", so it remains to be seen if the match will continue to be labelled as "Pride Match"... and how far from the stadium will the rest of the Pride Month activities will be.
"With hundreds of thousands of visitors and billions of viewers worldwide, this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment to showcase and celebrate LGBTQIA+ communities in Washington" said the Seattle World Cup organising committee. FIFA has not yet any statements about this.
